Say something
by klausmikaelson3
Summary: a little ficlet about sasu/saku and her eternal wait for him to finally "say something"


Right from the beginning , since their time at the academy , he never had been one for words , for expression. But , of course , back then she had spoken and expressed more than enough for the both of them. Things had changed now , though. She had changed , grown up. She had had to , what with always being the weakest link on her team , the one the others always had to strive to protect.

But , all of that was behind her now. The time for being called weak and annoying was past.

And she had proved that to him and to all the others that had doubted her , when _he _had finally returned to Konoha a few months back. She had not run to the gate , crying and desperate to see him , though she had been right there , in Lady Tsunade's office when Shizune burst in , relaying a message from the border guards saying that Uchiha Sasuke had been sighted and was going to be escorted to the Hokage's office by an ANBU squad.

She had just calmly exited the office , dropped down to her knees and thanked Kami for bringing him back home , alive.

She didn't even run to Tsunade , crying and pleading his case when she heard that he was going to be tried for his crimes against the village. Although , she did make sure that Naruto would be there at the trial , to do all of the championing that she couldn't.

Then , one week after he had been tried and put on a month long probation before his return to genin status , she attended the " welcome home " party that the resident party planner , Ino , threw for him. Naruto practically ordered her to attend saying he didn't know how it was possible that they hadn't yet seen each other since his return.

So , she went , and saw him for the first time in many years , standing there beside an extremely talkative Naruto and a particularly shy Hinata , in all of his ethereal , otherworldly beauty. She was happy with just looking on from the sidelines , until Ino , being her boisterous interfering self , pushed her forward telling her to "Quit staring and go say hello !".

He looked up as she stumbled toward them and their eyes met. Hinata , noticing the awkwardness , led Naruto away saying something about there being ramen at the buffet table.

"Sakura" , he said , deep onyx eyes betraying nothing.

"Sasuke , ... welcome home"

"Hn"

Barely a second later , an apparently drunk and hysterical Ino tripped over to them , dragged Sakura away and then promptly fainted. She had to leave to get Ino back to her and Shikamaru's apartment to get her in bed. And that was that. She did'nt see him again for atleast a month.

She heard Naruto and Sai that the now newly formed Team Kakashi had been going on missions together since Sasuke's probation ended. Naruto often said that she should take some time off from the hospital and go on a mission with them , for old times sake. She smiled and nodded but never had an intention of doing so. She knew that if she had to spend an extended period of time with him , then she would'nt be able to keep up her non-caring , non-hurting facade that she'd built up over the years. She did'nt want to force her company onto him when it was'nt wanted.

About 2 months after his return , Sasuke showed up along with Naruto , at her apartment , for his weekly ramen invite. Of course, it was only Naruto doing all of the inviting , as well as the talking , but the fact that _Sasuke_ had shown up at her apartment and had actively sought her out for the first time since she'd known him had to count for something.

So , she went. It would have been terribly silent and awkward if it had'nt been for Naruto's oblivious and incessant chattering. During dinner , it was the little things he did that sruck her. Like how the boys left her a stool in between them rather than off to the side. How Sasuke paid for all of them before she even had a chance to reach for her wallet. How , at the end of the night , Sasuke actually turned and "Hn-ed" at her instead of just getting up and walking off like the days of old.

She had long since given up on her childish fantasies of Sasuke suddenly realizing how perfect they were for each other and falling madly in love with her. No , now she had tamer hopes , that maybe this time around , they could actually be friends.

Time passed and there were other "little things" that changed between them. Sasuke trained with her and helped her learn new techniques. He showed up for their ramen nights even when he knew that Naruto was away on a mission. He always asked for her to heal him whenever he got sent to the hospital. All of these , she could have considered signs toward the above mentioned fantasies , except , he was still his non-communicative , emotionally challenged , grunting self.

Then , about 9 months after he had come back , Naruto and Hinata announced that they had gotten engaged. It scared her. She was obviously happy for her friends , but it scared her that while she was still stuck in the same emotional state as she been at the age of 12 , her friends were growing and moving ahead. Kiba had been asking her out for ages and that night feeling the need to get ahead with her life , she went out with him. After all , there was no point in waiting around forever for someone who just did'nt feel the same way.

About halfway into their date , she felt incredible guilty. She apologised to Kiba and confessed that she could'nt lie to herself or to him anymore about the fact that she was still in love with Sasuke. To his credit , he did'nt seem very surprised and appeared almost resigned to the fact.

She went home , curled up into a ball , and cried herself to sleep. She woke up several hours later to the sound of knocking. She opened the door to see Sasuke standing there , dripping in the pouring rain.

He looked worn , like someone who had tried long and hard to fall asleep but could'nt.

"You said you loved me ", he said almost accusingly.

"I ... did , I do"

"Yet you went out with him"

"Sasuke ... i waited for you" , she said , angry now , "...I waited for years , ... even after you came back , I kept waiting for you to just say something , to show me that you cared , even a little , but you never did ... "

"Sakura" , he said , moving closer , " you of all people should know that I'm no good at talking"

He pulled her in and their lips met , his tongue seeking entrnce in a kiss that was equally passionate and desperate , all of the pent up emotions and feelings showing in every caress . When they finally broke apart for air , Sakura said , a little breathlessly , " Well , _that_ you are definitly good at. "

"Hn" , he smirked , and pulled her in again.


End file.
